The Sudo Fishing Plan

"Did you see anything interesting on campus today?"

Hiyori, Ryuen, Ishizaki, Albert, and I sat around the dining table, chatting while dipping ingredients into the nine-grid hot pot.

"Does snatching Sakayanagi's cane from Class A and using it to whack her count?"

I hadn't expected Ryuen to see that; it was a little embarrassing.

"Of course not. You know what I'm referring to."

"Well, there is one interesting thing. Sudo from Class D is a decent breakthrough point. We could use him to force Class D to buy our information."

Sudo, huh? He's a good choice, though we'll need to plan carefully to strike the right balance with this conflict.

"Has Class D still not chosen to buy information from you?"

I knew I was asking a question with an obvious answer, but it was necessary to use a soft blade to prod Ryuen, to get him to exercise his initiative and get things done.

"This year's Class D is truly a handful. If we weren't committed to the points-based strategy, I'd be confident in getting quite a few of them expelled within a month."

Hearing Ryuen's confident tone made me want to laugh. He's sloppy with his dirty work—getting caught once is bad luck, but getting caught every time means he only has himself to blame.

"How does that saying go? Destruction is easy, preservation is hard. Why else would a hitman's success rate be so much higher than a bodyguard's?

Judging by their performance in the gym today, Class D definitely hasn't chosen a competent leader, or rather, the internal problems in Class D are so massive that they can't even pick one.

Destroying such a trash class is simple, but isn't it a better display of our strength to keep such a trash class afloat?"

I couldn't just say Class D was hopeless and we should abandon them. While dead men are often more useful than the living, right now, a living Class D is more valuable than a dead one; as long as there are people, we can fleece them for points.

The trashier Class D is, the better. Leeks only need to grow honestly; the timing of the harvest is the only thing Class C needs to consider.

"So, this is where your role comes in. This absolutely private clubroom is the perfect execution site."

Ryuen eyed the facilities inside the clubroom, seemingly contemplating how to lure the target into the trap.

"In this school, there is zero tolerance for bullying."

Because this plan to strike at Sudo needs to happen much earlier than in the original timeline, every aspect of the plan requires a complete overhaul.

But one thing remains unchanged: the crime we are framing Sudo for.

"That guy Sudo from Class D got into a dispute with some upperclassmen near the dorms at noon today. The reason is unclear.

But based on subsequent events, he's hostile toward anyone trying to help him, and he falls into a blind rage over the slightest provocation. Luring him into the trap won't be difficult.

Transfer me 200,000 private points. I'll buy some necessary equipment and observe him for two more days to see what other weaknesses he has. When the time comes, I'll have someone bait him here and help him achieve the 'school bullying' result."

Ryuen dipped his finger into his cup of cola, using it as ink to roughly sketch the campus layout on the table, then used his oil-stained chopsticks to draw a route.

"Sounds like a viable plan. This clubroom can do more than just serve as the crime scene; it can serve another purpose.

You have to realize that while this clubroom is private to the school, the hallway outside is not. If we want to ensure the fact of 'school bullying' is established after luring the target in, we need a backup plan.

We can't rule out the possibility that he realizes it's a trap after chasing them into the room, so we must ensure the bait sustains sufficiently serious injuries.

This clubroom is like a black box; all the school knows is the state before entering and after leaving.

Sudo chasing our people in is the cause, and when the door opens again, what must be displayed on the surveillance cameras is the bullied student and Sudo. That is the effect.

We can modify this room in advance, use the facilities and clutter to hide our people, and have the bait lead Sudo by a certain amount of time. Once Sudo realizes something is wrong and tries to flee, our people will strike, inflicting injuries on the bait in the blind spots of the room where the cameras can't see.

As for how to hide people without being spotted by the hallway cameras, I noticed when I went to the supermarket at noon that this area is entirely a surveillance blind spot."

I supplemented Ryuen's plan while carrying my bowl to the window and tapping the wall.

Behind the club building is a green belt, and there are no facilities along this path; the surveillance field of view doesn't cover the back of the building. It's a dead zone.

"I'll find a route tomorrow that avoids the cameras to reach the back of the club building. The only issue is the climbing ropes and safety gear. Buying them at the supermarket or carrying them in plain sight of the cameras would be a huge headache."

Ryuen also brought his bowl to the window, pushed it open, and leaned out to estimate the height of the floor.

The Traditional Literature Club on the third floor is a bit high; for students, professional tools are a must.

"That's not a problem. There's brand-new equipment from the Rock Climbing Club in that pile of junk over there that hasn't been used yet. We don't need to buy it ourselves, and it won't appear on any surveillance."

Actually, there's quite a lot of useful stuff in this clubroom. Thanks to the 'donations' from other clubs.

"Then I'll have to consider the choice of bait. They need to be fast, at least, otherwise it'll be troublesome if they get caught before they even reach this point."

The latter half of the plan was basically finalized through our back-and-forth, leaving only the selection of personnel.

"No matter who you choose as bait, I must be inside the clubroom when the incident occurs.

For one, I am the president of the Traditional Literature Club. It would be too suspicious if the chosen bait just ran in here without my permission.

For another, although the rules conveyed by Sakagami from the school state zero tolerance for bullying, in all the schools I visited during my travels in Japan, they all said the same thing, yet I've never seen a school that actually enforces it.

To ensure this school's execution, I need to be 'dragged' into this incident. I'm an international student, and this school is a facility of the Japanese government. If something happens to me, it won't be a teaching accident—it will be a diplomatic incident."

I certainly can't beat Sudo in a fight; all I need to do is become a 'victim' and control the progress of this operation.

"You're not just trying to squeeze points out of Class D; you're trying to scrape some grease off the school's hands, too."

Ryuen laughed, patting my shoulder as he did so. If I didn't need both hands to steady my bowl, I would have really wanted to punch him.

"That many points aren't easy to scrape together, and sometimes having too much money isn't a good thing. We need to find the right opportunity to force the school to make concessions."

I can't guarantee that the school won't try to harvest our accumulated points through disgusting rules in a special exam once they realize our point-based strategy, so we can't afford to slack off.